Rockford graduates complete AmeriCorps NCCC service

They’ve lived in tents, provided relief to tornado-devastated communities, mentored disadvantaged youth, coordinated tens of thousands of volunteers, and developed into our nation’s future leaders. With over half a million hours of service and 138 projects behind them, Meghan Pitsch and Rose Marie Fulbright, both of Rockford, are two of 284 members of AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), who have completed 10 months of full-time service to communities in need.

Pitsch and Fulbright, who arrived at NCCC’s Southwest Region Campus in Denver on October 13, 2010, to begin their term of service, graduated from the program on Friday, July 29. Most Corps members departed Denver and began travel to their home of record immediately following the morning ceremony.

Pitsch, Fulbright and their respective teams of about 10 other members completed a series of six- to eight-week-long projects in different communities across the country. NCCC projects support disaster relief, the environment, energy conservation, infrastructure improvement, and urban and rural development.

The graduating class completed 51 projects in disaster services this year, including a major response following the tornado that ripped through Joplin, Mo. AmeriCorps NCCC certifies 100 percent of its members in disaster relief, and has responded to every national disaster since the program began in 1994.

There are four other NCCC campuses located in Perry Point, Md., Vicksburg, Miss., Vinton, Iowa, and Sacramento, Calif., each of which is a hub for its respective area of the country, though teams will travel to other regions for disaster relief projects.

Before joining the NCCC, Pitsch graduated from Rockford High School in May 2008 and attended Aquinas College for two years, studying political science and international studies. Michael and Holly Pitsch are her parents.

Before joining the NCCC, Fulbright graduated from Rockford High School in June 2010. Kathy Fulbright and Dave Fulbright are her parents.

The Squire has been Rockford’s free weekly newspaper since 1871. Our loyal readership includes over fifteen thousand homes in the Rockford area, including the affluent Lakes area of Lake Bella Vista, Bostwick Lake and Silver Lake; Belmont, Blythefield, as well as Algoma, Courtland, Cannon and Plainfield Townships. The Squire is distributed through the U.S. Post Office every Thursday. We also deliver to in-town businesses and homes with paper carriers and news stands in our grocery stores and over thirty local shops.